Higher Education in USA and UK - Trace écrite cours

To what extent is higher education in the USA and the UK a challenging process for students? Introduction Video The human face of student debts America's $1.2 trillion in student loan debt is more than just a number – it's a weight borne by millions of students, often for d...

To what extent is higher education in the USA and the UK a challenging process for students? Introduction Video The human face of student debts America's $1.2 trillion in student loan debt is more than just a number – it's a weight borne by millions of students, often for decades. Some have no degree to show for it and are on a “debt strike.” Others are resigned to the fact that they'll never pay it o , get married or own a home. (You have a table in your notes to recap all the examples of the video) Article about Biden’s promises “STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS COULD HELP MORE THAN 40 MILLION” Article/ AP news website./ quality press./ inform/ controversy/ forgiveness plan The plan: Cancel student debt/ student loans/ help people pay back/ pay o their student loans/ bc nancial burden ➔ up to $10k + extra 10k/ ght inequalities/ in ation/ pandemic l5-7 “— More than 40 million Americans could see their student loan debt reduced — and in many cases eliminated —” l10 “Biden is erasing $10,000 in federal student loan” This plan is not supported by the Republican party because Biden = Democrat Sparked criticism + controversy over plan bc seen as unfair for those who struggled to pay o their loans on their own→ disdainful ( + Democrats divided around the question ) l8 “a historic but politically divisive move” L15” Republicans quickly denounced the plan as an insult to Americans” How to qualify for this plan? Based on income/ people who earn less than 125k a year + people who bene ted from federal grant. Will student loan borrowers get forgiveness automatically? No→ will have to apply + prove they earn less than 125k a year. how Cartan and the student from Tufts University, funded their education: Both = took out loans to pay for college. But Cartan’s parents = helped her out by borrowing money as well. Braxton =took odd jobs to make ends meets. Forgiveness plan: racial justice? AfroAmerican people tend to take out more loans than their white counterparts→ student debt weighs more heavily on them. Conclusion: Although it is a historic decision and a form social progress that will nancially relieve millions of Americans, according to the journalists, it does not address the real problem: the cost of higher education in the USA. Despite federal grants and scholarships, for lower and middle class high school students paying for college remains a major concern. For many, higher education is still out of reach. Doc 1* This document is a photograph taken during a graduation ceremony. Indeed, in the foreground, we can see students sitting and wearing a gown and a grad cap. In the background, we can also see students and proba- bly teachers and the president of the university on a stage. Graduation ceremony known as ‘commencement’ or ‘convocation’ is the day of graduating or receiving an academic degree. It is an orchestrated and elaborate process which involves a march of students onto the stage, the reading of speeches, the giving of diplomas and the o cial moment when students are declared graduated. Described as the rite of passage in the life of a student, it is one of the most important moments in a stu- dents’s life as it marks the transition from studies to professional life. It is a moment of pride for students as well as their parents who look on with sense of achievement. Doc 3* In the UK, students go to university for 3 years whereas higher education lasts 4 years in the USA. On average, the cost of university in the UK is lower than in the USA. To go to university, British students must pass their A-levels while American students must pass their SATs. There are more curriculum choices in the USA than in the UK. In the UK, knowledge is based on depth. However, in the USA, it is based on breadth. fi fi ff fl ff fi fi ffi ff  Doc 4* The best universities are American and British. Indeed, British and American universities dominate the ran- king whereas there is only one European university in the top ten. US universities retain all of the top four positions ( for instance Stanford is second...) Both UK and US universities record more improvements than drops. We may wonder of these prestigious universities are within reach... Doc 5* This text is a testimony. Raphaëlle, a British girl shares her experience as a Harvard university student. Harvard University is special because it is one of the best universities in the world. The students work a lot every day to succeed. It is also one of the oldest universities in the US. The libraries are always lled with students working and the dorms are never completely dark since there are always students studying. Her rst class on Wednesdays is at 8.45 a.m. After her rst class, she spends one hour studying at the library. Then, she has an economics class at 12 p.m. After her economics class, she has lunch. In the afternoon, for ve hours, she works as a research assistant. After dinner, she takes an economics review test. She then goes to debate class for an hour. Finally, she studies at the library for a bit before trying to nd time to sleep. She doesn’t think that she should complain about her student life. To her, it is quite normal to study so much. She also explains that even if students work really hard, they do try to make time for some extracurricular activities, or even to party and visit the city of Boston, Massachusetts. Doc 7* In 2019, American families spent about $26226 on college. 43% of this amount came from their income and savings which means that they have to pay with their own money to pay for their children’s education. 31% came from the American government ( scholarships and grants) 24% of this amount came from loans => they have to borrow Money This infographic, entitled “How America Pays for College 2019”, shows that education is an investment for American families. They rely on di erent sources of funding. They depend on grants and scholarships to co- ver college costs. Without this aid many students might not be able to attend college. Moreover, although families use di erent strategies to pay for education such as loans and grants, the gures show that higher education weighs heavily on most American families. Indeed, parents and students shoulder ( assumer/ en- dosser) the greater share of university tuition fees. We can therefore infer (conclure/ sugarer deduce that college has a deep impact on the future lives of both parents and students. Doc 8* She is 22 years old. She studied at the College of New Rochelle. She has just graduated. She used to live with her family in a homeless shelter. Her mother died when Bianca was 18. She had two disabled brothers to take care of. Paul has renal failure and Michael has Down syndrome. While she was studying and taking care of her two disabled brothers, Bianca had four jobs in order to earn money for her family. Since her mother, a single parent, died, Bianca became head of the household. One of her professors thinks that she’s a very creative and vibrant human being and one of the most intelligent students he’s ever taught. He is certain that Bianca will have a bright future. The show hosts think that Bianca is an example to follow and that her story is amazing. Doc 10* It deals with the student debt crisis and the fact that it impacts a great number of students in the US. Paid O is a game show that aims at helping graduates reimburse all or part of their student debt. The contestants are current students or former students. They are here to answer trivia questions in order to win the game and pay o / reimburse some of their debt. He seems very skeptical. He thinks that it is ridiculous that a national crisis has been turned into a game show. fi ff fi fi fi fi ff ff fi ff 500 billion: It was the amount of debt due to student loans in 2006 in the US 1.5 trillion: It’s the amount of debt in 2019. This amount is higher than all credit card debt or auto loan debt. 44 million: it’s the number of Americans who have student loans to pay o. Doc 11* Tweet: It’s a tweet from Nicki Minaj, a famous American singer. She is o ering to pay students’ fees. Video: She has never been to college, it’s one of her regret so she is very proud of her fans going to college. The students that she helped by paying o their loans or fees are in the audience to thank her. They are very grateful because thanks to her gesture/ donation, they can pursue/ nish their studies and get an education. They are students from disadvantaged backgrounds and without her help they couldn’t make it to college. Doc 12* The Million Student March is a movement of students protesting for more a ordable education. They have three demands/revendications. 1. Tuitions fees free for every student 2. Forgiveness 3. 15 dollars minimum wage for campus workers => What is Bernie Sander’s position? According to Bernie Sander, former Democrat presidential candidate, education should be free. => What is the parents’ position? Free education is not the best method to make education more a ordable. They recommended eliminating federal aid and the rst two years free. fi ff ff ff ff fi ff